On this week's news update…

Morocco suffers a devastating earthquake… 

Engineers create WindWings for ships… 

… and robots help to restore coral reefs.

First up…

On September 8th, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit the country of Morocco.

High Atlas Mountains

Morocco

The earthquake started in the High Atlas Mountains, in central Morocco.    

epicenter

It caused extensive damage to communities close to the epicenter, which is the point on the Earth's surface directly above the earthquake's starting point.     

The impact of the quake was felt beyond the mountain communities, and the old quarter of Morocco’s capital Marrakesh was also badly damaged. 
Seismologists, who study earthquakes, expect there to be lots of smaller quakes, known as aftershocks, in the coming weeks and months. 

There have been over 25 aftershocks already, which are restricting rescue efforts. So far almost 3,000 people have lost their lives as a result of the earthquake, but rescuers continue to work around the clock to help those affected.    

Up next …

For centuries, sailors relied on wind power to lift their sails and carry them over the ocean.

WindWings

Now a team of experts have created WindWings to harness the wind once more and help power the next generation of greener ships.

WindWings are made up of three sections that move according to the wind direction and speed. They stand up to 123 feet tall, and can be fitted onto existing cargo ships to reduce their environmental impact.

Each WindWing fitted to older ships could reduce the amount of fuel burned by 1.5 tonnes a day, with the potential to cut a new ship’s total emissions by up to 30%.

Now they are being put to the test. The first ship with WindWings has set sail, and will be closely monitored over the coming months so engineers can improve the wings’ design and performance. They hope that their technology will help to significantly reduce the pollution caused by shipping, and put the wind back in the industry’s sails.

And finally…

Coral reefs are under threat from climate change and rising sea temperatures. In the last 70 years, over half of coral reefs around the world have been lost. 

To help reefs recover, marine biologists like Taryn Foster carry out vital coral restoration work. This involves growing healthy corals, and then adding them to damaged reef environments. 

This can take a lot of time and effort. But Foster hopes to scale up future restoration projects—using robots!    

She has designed a base for young corals to grow on. This helps speed up their early growth. Now, she has partnered with engineering company Autodesk to program robots that can carry out the repetitive task of attaching corals to bases.   

One robotic arm glues pieces of coral to small plugs, while another uses vision software to insert the plugs into the base. The team are now adapting the robots for use outside of the lab, in the hope of one day enabling coral restoration on a much larger scale than is currently possible.

    
That's all for this week, we'll see you next time!